USS Glacier (AK-183)
| Career (USA) |   |
|---|---|
| Name: | Glacier |
| Namesake: | A field or body of ice formed in a region where snowfall exceeds melting; it moves slowly down a mountainside or valley. |
| Ordered: | as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC 2114 |
| Builder: | Port Houston Iron Works for Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin |
| Laid down: | date unknown |
| Launched: | 22 April 1944 |
| Sponsored by: | Miss Agnes Kennedy |
| Acquired: | by the U.S. Navy, 29 March 1945 |
| Commissioned: | 14 April 1945 as USS Glacier (AK-183) |
| Decommissioned: | 19 February 1946, at Norfolk, Virginia |
| Struck: | 12 March 1946 |
| Fate: | returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission 22 February 1946 |
| Notes: | sold for scrapping in July 1970 at Hsinkang, China |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Alamosa-class cargo ship |
| Tonnage: | 2,382 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 7,435 tons |
| Length: | 388' 8" |
| Beam: | 50' |
| Draft: | 21' 1" |
| Propulsion: | Diesel, single screw, 1,700shp |
| Speed: | 11.5 knots |
| Complement: | 85 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | one 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount; six 20mm guns |
USS Glacier (AK-183) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during the final months of World War II. She served the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations for a short period of time before being decommissioned and returned to the U.S. Maritime Administration for dispositioning.
Contents
Built in Superior, Wisconsin
The third ship to be so named by the Navy, Glacier (AK-183) was launched 22 April 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilding, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin; sponsored by Miss Agnes Kennedy; acquired 29 March 1945 and commissioned 14 April 1945, Lt. C. L. Hitchcock, USNR, in command.
Following shakedown off Galveston, Texas, Glacier loaded lumber and metal drums at New Orleans, Louisiana, and sailed 18 May 1945 for Pearl Harbor, where she put in 12 June to off-load her cargo.
Underway 29 June with building supplies for Kwajalein, she returned via Eniwetok to San Francisco, California, 5 August. Subsequently, a 5-month voyage out of San Francisco brought general cargo to Pearl Harbor, Tarawa, Majuro, Eniwetok, Guam, and Saipan before Glacier moored at Norfolk, Virginia, 1 February 1946, her missions accomplished.
Post-war decommissioning
Decommissioned there 19 February 1946, she was returned to the Maritime Commission 3 days later and stricken from the Navy List 12 March 1946.
Honors and awards
Qualified Glacier personnel were eligible for the following:
References
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AK-183 Glacier
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